The Lied Center for Performing Arts unveiled its 2022-23 Broadway season on Wednesday, one week after announcing that "Hamilton" will come to Lincoln for an extended run in August 2023.
Rounding out the rest of the season will be “Chicago,†“Jagged Little Pill,†“Legally Blonde: The Musical,†“Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,†“The Book of Mormon,†“On Your Feet,†“Stomp†and “Madagascar.â€Â
The season will open Oct. 25 with the first of four performances of a 25th anniversary presentation of the Tony- and Grammy Award-winning “Chicago†and will run through the Lincoln debut of “Hamilton.â€
The season, with 47 total performances, will be the biggest Broadway offering in the Lied’s three-decade history.
“We’ll have two weeks of ‘Hamilton,’ a week of ‘Jagged Little Pill,’ almost a full week of ‘Book of Mormon’ and four or five performances of several others,†said Lied Deputy Director Matthew Boring.Â
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Lied’s Broadway offerings have gradually increased, growing the local audience to the point where eight 2018 performances of “The Book of Mormon†and 15 performances of “The Phantom of the Opera†in 2019 filled the hall.
That response, and the Lied’s use of a Broadway subscription package that began in 2018, is much of the reason why it can bring such a large season to Lincoln, said Bill Stephan, the Lied's executive director.
“The Lied Center has one of the leading Broadway series in the nation, and it’s helpful that we have a four- or five-show subscription for all of our season shows,†Stephan said. “That helps make us a priority over places that are only presenting one or two shows.
"Our ultimate goal is to be doing full weeks for all the shows, that, again, would put us up on a higher level of prioritization and being able to schedule a little easier.â€
But Stephan said, even with those advantages, putting together a season is a challenge.
“It's a puzzle with lots of pieces, and sometimes somebody just pushes all the pieces — you're almost there and then somebody just wipes them off the table,†he said.
One such national tour dropped out recently and forced Stephan and his staff to adjust.
"That changed a bunch of our show plans and then that impacted other presenters nationally, which impacted some more things that we had locked in, and those moved."
That explains why the Lied Center made its Broadway schedule public a month later than planned, he said.
Lied tried to bring in a mix of Broadway classics such as “Chicago,†while adding new musicals that most in Lincoln would have never seen, like “Jagged Little Pill†and “Legally Blonde: the Musical.â€
In addition, an attempt was made to bring back favorites such as “The Book of Mormon†and “Stomp,†while adding family offerings with “Madagascar†and “Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas.â€
The Grinch is scheduled for the week before Christmas, with a special morning performance set for Christmas Eve.
Current subscribers have been able to renew their subscriptions – without knowledge of all the musicals in the package — since the Lied Center run of “Hamilton†was announced on March 9.
Starting Tuesday, new subscribers can purchase that five-show package that includes the same seats to “Hamilton," “Chicago,†“Jagged Little Pill,†“Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas†and “Legally Blonde: The Musical.â€
Any number of tickets for “The Book of Mormon,†“On Your Feet," “Stomp†and “Madagascar†can be added on to a subscriber’s package.
In May, the full 2022-23 Lied Center season will be available in season packages. Single tickets for most of the shows will go on sale in August.Â